Upper control arm build

[mklotz70]

Okay....these are pics from about 2.5yrs ago. I think a bunch of them were posted on NWDE, but I came across them again just now. I thought I'd upload them to PB and share them. There seems to be a couple of guys working with control arms now....thought I'd share how we built Bre620's....might help with the process or ideas. The way we did it is not necessarily the best way, but we wanted major overkill, so we modeled ours after the Thorbeck Brothers.

 

For now...mainly just pics. If there are specific questions, I can try to remember the details. The guy on the mill, cutting the slots is Bre620. The welder is ADrummond. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mklotz70]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These were built back before I got my mill and lathe. The original ball joint plate was created by hand, then used as the model for the rest of them. I still have all the pieces for my set sitting in a box somewhere.....$60 of DOM tubing!!!

 

 

..oh...the white is powdercoat. One of the first things I ever did with PC :) The sad part is....they're still not on the truck! :(

[playsnmud]

:thumbup:thats all I can say

[yello620]

Hey, I recognize that welding jig.:D

 

Here are my arms, Mine are a little more crued in the metal cutting department, but they work so good. My balljoint mounting plate is 3/8", and all the tube is 1/4" wall DOM just like mikes, same stick in fact. Mike, I adjusted that jig quite a bit before i made my final set.:D

I didn't bother powder coating mine, just rattle canned them gloss black. Pics is just primer.

 

 

Ohh, and they seemed to work really well at the autocross.:lol:

[mklotz70]

Sorry yello.....I meant to mention that you were a big part of that build. Your knowledge about front end geometery is what got us through!! :) Thanks for letting us use the jig!!!!

 

I thought it was 3/8" wall DOM....but you're probably right......been awhile!! :)

 

 

Your arms came out great!!!! They're on a daily driver!!!! The ones I built are still just art :( I've said it before........some of the coolest stuff I build in my shop is for other people!!

[Icehouse]

Awesome arms dudes!! Definitely a little over kill but I do the same thing when building parts. I'm one of those guys that thinks about every nut and bolt when I'm going to fast :D

 

What is your alignment settings? Do they dial in some caster?

 

Also what bushings are you guys running? The ones you have Mike look like aluminum.

[mklotz70]

I think we ended up settling on 3 degs of caster and about 1-2 of chamber. Couple of shims will change that anyway. :) Yello has played with his settings since then, so hopefully, he'll post up what he set his at.

 

Those are aluminum bushings...at that time, I was paying someone else to do the lathe work. They aren't intended to be put to road use, they are simply to hold the pieces for welding. The AL won't stick. :) ......but some Delrin versions aren't out of the question these days :)

[Jester]

So, not being a suspension guy, what makes them better than the stockers? Stiffer? What spindles bolt to them?

 

I have 10' of 1/4" wall DOM. :D:rolleyes:

[Pacific coast Datsun]

Good pix Mike. Hey what ever happened to David anyways?

[BEEBANI]

Well, since we're sharing....

 

here's mine:

 

 

 

 

Here's some adjustables I made for Rusty's NL:

 

 

 

[yello620]

Awesome arms dudes!! Definitely a little over kill but I do the same thing when building parts. I'm one of those guys that thinks about every nut and bolt when I'm going to fast :D

 

What is your alignment settings? Do they dial in some caster?

 

Also what bushings are you guys running? The ones you have Mike look like aluminum.

 

Mine has not seen an alignment machine yet, but i did increase the caster quite a bit from the jig settings that mike used. I beleive that i should be about 4.5-5 degrees.

 

The aluminum bushings were used to hold everything tight in the jig. The actual rubber bushings used are stock nissan upper control arm bushings. the bushings are stock to a 79 620, but fit all the way through the hardbody series too. Same with the upper ball joints.

[yello620]

So, not being a suspension guy, what makes them better than the stockers? Stiffer? What spindles bolt to them?

 

I have 10' of 1/4" wall DOM. :D:rolleyes:

 

Jester, nothing really makes them better, we are making these to accomodate disk brakes onto an early truck that came with drum brakes stock.

 

These arms are made to install Nissan hardbody upper balljoints and spindles.

 

The DOM that we are using is probably way overkill, but we sure as hell wont have to worry about the metal breaking.

[BEEBANI]

BTW, Mike those look really good. Which rig were originally gonna put them on?

[mklotz70]

They were built for Dave's rig.

[Jester]

The reason I asked is because I just picked up a set of dual pot calipers at the local yard. They are from a 4X4 Pathfinder with a VG. Now I just need the rest of the frontend stuff to put them on. Getting everything a piece at a time.

[Cpl620]

Rise! Rise from the dead! Winning in this thread. Anyone else have some more?

[jesusno2]

BOOM!! both control arms.